Starbucks opens store built from shipping containers

March 20, 2012

Starbucks has opened a drive-thru location built out of recycled shipping containers. The store opened in December in Tukwila, Wash., and features four shipping containers. Three of the containers are 40 feet long and one is 20 feet long, according to a story on Kentreporter.com.

"Our designers were inspired to create this store both as a result of the shipyard that can be seen out the back windows of our headquarters in South Seattle as well as a desire to recycle the same kind of shipping containers that transport our coffees and teas around the world," Starbucks spokesman Zack Hutson said in the story.

Hutsun said Starbucks is experimenting with new design formats that reclaim the expired containers – taking them out of scrap yards and converting them into stores. The company has a focus on green building to help reduce operating costs and to lead by example and to push the environmental design envelope in retail.